Part 1 THE JOKER Chapter 162 The sunlight was fierce.
A faint glow shone in through the narrow colored windows high above, making the dimness inside Morse Chapel more than a little visible.
With his bowler hat on his knees and his legs leaning on his cane, Klein sat quietly in the first row of chairs on the left side of the aisle, eyeing the altar in front of him.
There were no statues enshrined there, merely a large dark holy emblem, its deep black base, brilliantly accented, clustered just halfway to the Crimson Moon.
On the wall behind the holy emblem, hole after hole opened up, and the sunlight from the outside world shone in, coalescing into pure, microscopic bright spots that connected with the near-black surroundings and incarnated into the sublime starry sky.
Whether it is the Goddess of the Night, or the Eternal Sun, the Lord of the Storm, all the orthodox gods have never left a concrete image, worship, worship can only be the symbols of the k …… This seems to be another manifestation of the “can not see the gods directly”! …… Kraven let his thoughts wander, not eager to take advantage of the opportunity to guard the seal “3-0782” alone to create the “Yang Yan Charm”.
He thought that this kind of thing must be careful, must be patient, must wait, the first ten minutes, Leonard and Kornleigh may come in at any time to remind certain precautions.
Time flew by in the extreme silence, and Klein suddenly came back to his senses, took out his silver pocket watch with a branch and vine pattern, snapped it open, and glanced at it.
Twenty minutes had passed …… He murmured a silent word, placed his half-height silk bowler hat and black silver-encrusted cane beside him, and rose to walk to a relatively secluded corner near the altar.
He was first facing the side of the altar, but as soon as he saw the huge dark holy emblem and the sacred scene that seemed like a projection of the night sky, he inexplicably felt weak and uncomfortable, so he turned around and turned his back to the altar.
Immediately after, Klein removed the seal “3-0782” worn on the inside of the black tuxedo, and bent down to put this dark gold-colored ancient badge on the ground.
After looking at the abstract “sun” symbol, Klein took out a small candle mixed with sandalwood incense and placed it under the seal “3-0782”.
This is a dualistic ritual he learned from the Eternal Sun: use an object closely related to the deity to directly symbolize K, and use the candle to represent himself.
Taking a breath to ease his tense emotions, Klein took out the items needed for the ceremony one by one, including a carving knife, two thin gold flakes, the essential oil of the sun extracted from a mixture of black-rimmed sunflowers, gold-rimmed sunflowers, and white-rimmed sunflowers, and powdered golden mandarin, as well as powdered rosemary.
After all this, Klein skillfully used the ceremonial silver dagger to channel the spiritual flow, circling the simple “altar” to create invisible, sealed walls.
He crouched down, placed the silver dagger, extended his right hand, and with spiritual friction lit the candle that symbolized himself.
In the flickering, yellowish light, Klein took the “sun” oil and put a drop into the candle flame.
At once, an illusory mist spreads, with a hint of sunshine.
After burning the powdered gold and rosemary, Klein took the carving knife and the gold piece, stood up, took a step back, and chanted in the ancient Hermetic language:
”Blood of the Eternal Sun.”
”You are the Indestructible Light, the embodiment of order, the God of Contracts, and the Guardian of Commerce.”
……
The Indestructible Light, the Incarnation of Order, the God of Contracts, and the Guardian of Commerce were all part of the name of the “Eternal Sun”, and without the prefix “Blood of the Eternal Sun”, the ceremony would have to obtain a response from the deity in order to continue, and in that case, Klein doubted that the “Eternal Sun” would be able to continue. “In that case, Kraven suspected that the Eternal Sun would recognize him as the irreverent one who had looked directly at K. By that time, Leonard and Kornleigh would come in and see nothing but a pile of black ashes.
Moreover, the ritual had to be performed in ancient Hermetic, a language of sacrifice derived directly from nature, and only the unprotected but highly effective it would allow the incantation to bypass the Eternal Sun and point to the Mutated Sun’s Holy Emblem.
At the same time, because he was stealing the power of the gods, Klein could not divine in advance whether things would go well or not, thinking that it would bring him face to face with the gods again, so he could only recite the subsequent incantation cautiously with his heart in suspense:
”I pray thee;”
”I pray Thee to grant me strength;”
”Grant me the power to complete the Yang Yan Rune.”
”O Blood of the Eternal Sun, impart your power to my rune ……”
”O Golden Hand Citrus, herb belonging to the realm of the Sun, impart your power to my sigil ……”
……
As the incantation neared its end, Klein suddenly felt something light up in front of him.
The dark golden, ancient insignia blossomed with a fiery light, like the sun descending over the earth.
Klein was instantly plunged into extreme heat, his hair turned hot at a rapid pace and seemed to be about to burst into flames.
His feet felt as if they were stepping naked on the yellow sand after the midday sun, while his face and body were washed and polished again and again by the rolling gale that blew in all directions.
At this instant he felt that he must do something to channel and express that burning power, or else he would become a human candle.
Hardly needing to think, Klein raised his hands, and with his thoughts rolling like hot porridge, relying on his spirituality and the gale, following his instinctive memory and the guidance of the ritual, he began to use the carving knife to draw symbols, corresponding spirit numbers, magical markings, and ancient incantations on the front and back of the gold piece.
Outside the church, Leonard was standing in the shadows, sheltered from the direct afternoon sun.
Suddenly, he realized that the sunlight was fierce for a moment, just as it had been during the hottest part of early July.
He squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky, and saw that the blue “curtain” was admirably clear without a cloud or a speck of dust.
”Strange weather.” On the other side of the room, Kornleigh also noticed the change in the sunlight.
Leonard was about to respond with a low chuckle when he suddenly tilted his head sideways.
His brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze looked toward the church as if scrutinizing.
”It’s a good thing Roxanne isn’t here, or she’d be complaining about the sun tanning her skin.” Leonard retracted his gaze and said with a smile.
The blazing sunlight only lasted for a few minutes before it gradually dimmed and everything returned to its original state.
Inside the church, Klein’s carving knife was making its final stroke.
With the completion of the magical symbol of “light”, the spirituality on the front and back of the gold piece suddenly became a whole, and was converged into the innermost part of the metal.
No, this is closer to the divine nature of …… Klein finally got rid of the hot and hot, soberly examined the two “Yangyan charm” in the palm of his hand.
The gold color of their surface had become dull, the pattern was ancient and complicated, and the warm and moist feeling was seeping out a little bit, penetrating into Klein’s skin.
”Not bad, I finally have more powerful undercards.” Klein sighed silently.
The opening incantation he set for the “Yang Yan Rune” was the ancient Hermetic word for “light”.
I want light, there is light …… He said to himself, put the “Yang Yan Charm” into another pocket, did not talk to the “Sleep” “Requiem” and “Dream”. “and “Dream” Charms, as that would affect the latter, reducing the time frame in which their effects could be maintained.
”Well, the power of the ‘Yang Yan Charm’ can be preserved for at least a year, if not longer.” Klein collected his thoughts and looked towards the “Mutated Sun Holy Emblem” on the ground.
Seeing that there was no change on its surface, and that the warmth and purity of the feeling was still assimilating the surroundings, Klein sighed in complete relief, and quickly finished wrapping up the ceremony and lifted the wall of spirituality.
It was only then that he had the presence of mind to examine himself, realizing that his close-fitting shirt was nearly soaked, his face was covered in sweat, and his hair was slightly frizzy at the edges.
Fortunately, fortunately …… Klein sighed in relief, collected his belongings, and returned to his original seat, sitting exhausted and falling asleep until he was awakened by the sound of footsteps.
His eyes snapped open and he subconsciously touched the “Yangyan Charm” to make sure it was still there.
”Your state is not too good?” Leonard, who had entered the church, asked.
Klein rubbed both corners of his forehead, got up and laughed:
”Because it’s almost close to the limit.”
He took out his silver pocket watch and pressed it open to look at it and added: “Just in time, it’s your turn to guard the seal ‘3-0782’.”
Before the words left his mouth, Klein took off the “Mutated Sun Holy Emblem” and frankly handed it to Leonard.
After watching him walk out of the church, Leonard collected his dangling posture and examined the seal “3-0782” with concentration and seriousness, his expression gradually becoming perplexed, revealing obvious confusion.
After taking their turns, the three night watchmen set off on their return journey.
Before that, they asked Cleric Smythe to keep an eye on the situation in the town, and to send a telegram to St. Selena’s Church as soon as there were any more suspected haunted occurrences.
At 7:20 p.m., they finally arrived at Zotland Street and turned in the seal “3-0782”.
After confirming that the captain did not find any abnormality, Klein left the Blackthorn Security Company in a happy mood and returned home before eight o’clock.
He took out the key and opened the door, but suddenly saw a strange figure.
It was a young girl, obviously under twenty, wearing a stale gray and white dress and struggling to polish the dining room.
She had black hair and brown pupils, smaller eyes, a nose that wasn’t quite straight enough, and very ordinary features.
Who? Klein froze at first, then realized that this was probably a handyman maid who had come to try her hand at housework.
At this time, Benson lowered his newspaper, looked at his brother, smiled and spoke:
”A company that doesn’t let its employees leave work on time is always disgusting.”
”But the paycheck it gives heals that trauma.” Klein responded with a smile.
As soon as Miss Justice’s 300 pounds arrives, tell Benson and Melissa about the raise in salary to six pounds a week, so they don’t have to worry too much about the family’s finances. …… Klein thought as he leaned back on his cane, removed his bowler hat, and walked towards the living room, lowering his voice:
”Have you made your choice?”
He had divined yesterday with the profiles of the three handyman maids and had come to the conclusion that they were all suitable, so he had left the decision to his brother and sister.
”Yes, Bella, at five soules a week, very willing and that capable of learning to cook, she hopes to become a housemaid cook in the future, that would double her weekly wage, her father is a laborer at the Tingen City Iron and Steel Combine, and her mother is a washerwoman.” Benson laughed softly and replied, “Of course, the other thing that made Melissa and I decide was that the other two maids believed in the Storm Lord and only she was a devotee of the Goddess, I personally don’t dislike Storm Lord believers but Melissa is a bit of a disliker.”
Melissa’s attitude wasn’t dislike, a more accurate description would be to bemoan her misfortunes and be angry at her, yes, what Lu Xun said! Klein recalled how his sister had been behaving and a smile appeared on his face.
Without further ado, Benson put down the newspaper, stood up and said:
”Now that you’re back, let’s enjoy dinner.”
……
The next day, Klein entered Blackthorn Security in a very good mood.
”Good morning.” Roxanne looked around and said, “Old Neil is sick, how about we visit him at noon?”
”Old Neil is sick?” Klein asked back in surprise.
It couldn’t be that the ritual of getting anti-diarrhea had caused severe constipation, could it?
Well, judging from his behavior after vaguely knowing the “play law”, it’s also possible to suddenly fall ill …… When you’re old and mentally fragile, your body will most likely follow suit……
Roxanne nodded vigorously:
”Yes, he got someone to ask the captain for leave.”
Klein nodded slightly and said, “Then we’ll go visit him at noon, hey, to say the least, old Neil is also very pitiful, his wife passed away early, and his children don’t know which city they’re busy in, so he can only lie alone and helplessly at home after getting sick.”
He was recalling the first time he went to Old Neil’s home.
Hearing Klein’s exclamation, Roxane’s eyes widened in startled rejoinder:
”When was old Neil ever married?”